# After 67 Years of Waiting, Jammu & Kashmir Are Finally Ranji Trophy Champions

URL: https://technosports.co.in/jammu-kashmir-are-finally-ranji-trophy-champions/  
Published: 2026-02-28  
Updated: 2026-02-28  
Author: Reetam Bodhak

India’s domestic cricket has seen giant-killers before. But what Jammu & Kashmir achieved on February 28, 2026, in Hubballi is something different — a story of resilience, late-night flights, a 42-year-old captain, and a fast bowler with a season for the ages. J&K are [Ranji Trophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranji_Trophy) champions, and it was as glorious as it sounds.

## Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Final — Match Summary

| Detail | Info |
| --- | --- |
| **Final Venue** | KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground, Hubballi |
| **Match Dates** | February 24–28, 2026 |
| **Winner** | Jammu & Kashmir (maiden title) |
| **Runners-Up** | Karnataka |
| **Result** | Draw — J&K won on first-innings lead |
| **J&K First Innings** | 584 all out |
| **Karnataka First Innings** | 293 all out |
| **First-Innings Lead** | 291 runs |
| **J&K Second Innings** | 342/4 declared |
| **Top Scorer (1st innings)** | Shubham Pundir — 121 |
| **Top Scorer (2nd innings)** | Qamran Iqbal — 160* |
| **Sahil Lotra** | 72 (1st inns) + 101* (2nd inns) |
| **Leading Wicket-Taker** | Auqib Nabi — 60 wickets in season |
| **Nabi’s Final Figures** | 5/54 |
| **J&K’s Previous Final** | 67 years ago |

## The Overnight Hero — Qamran Iqbal’s Story Is Pure Cinema

An opportunity to play in Jammu & Kashmir’s first-ever Ranji Trophy final didn’t seem a distinct possibility for Qamran Iqbal even until half-past nine the night before. His phone rang and he was asked to pack and leave immediately — first-choice opener Shubham Khajuria had been injured and ruled out. He departed from Srinagar at 11:30 PM, landed in Hubballi at 7:35 AM after a four-hour layover in Mumbai, and reached the ground at quarter-past eight with J&K already warming up. [Earth Journalism Network](https://earthjournalism.net/stories/indias-tech-boom-collides-with-deepening-water-crisis-in-bengaluru)Hours later he was batting — and ultimately, he scored an unbeaten 160 in the second innings to put the title beyond doubt. The cricket gods had a plan.

![Ranji Trophy](https://images.technosports.co.in/2026/02/image-2121-1024x683.png)

## The Weapon — Auqib Nabi, History-Maker With the Ball

Across 92 editions of the Ranji Trophy, only two other pacers — Dodda Ganesh and Jaydev Unadkat — had claimed 60 wickets or more in a single season. Nabi joined that rarefied club by sealing a match-winning five-wicket haul that decisively swung the 2025-26 title in J&K’s favour. [Cloud Computing News](https://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/data-centre-water-consumption-crisis/)Seven five-wicket hauls in a single Ranji season. Nabi didn’t just bowl J&K to a title — he rewrote record books doing it.

## The Captain — Paras Dogra at 42, Full Circle

In 2013, Hubballi was where Dogra made his India A debut, against West Indies A. But one failure, and the doors shut. Thirteen years on, at 42, he stood on the cusp of completing a circle in the same city — this time as captain, with J&K within touching distance of a maiden Ranji crown. He was hit on the helmet, got into a headline-grabbing headbutt incident mid-match, and still marshalled his troops with the calm of someone who’d been waiting his whole career for this moment. Because he had.

## The Road to Glory — Five Former Champions Beaten

J&K trounced five former Ranji champions along the way — Hyderabad, Delhi and Rajasthan in the group stage, Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-finals and Bengal in the semis. [Outlook India](https://www.outlookindia.com/national/ai-impact-summit-2026-water-stress-from-data-centres-a-cause-for-concern)The only former title holder they lost to all season was Mumbai. A 67-year wait for a final, then this kind of campaign. Extraordinary doesn’t cover it.

## What Made This Team Different

Ajay Sharma being named head coach in September 2022 changed the landscape of J&K cricket. P. Krishnakumar as bowling coach and Dishant Yagnik joining forces soon improved J&K’s pace attack and fielding by leaps and bounds. Add veteran captain Paras Dogra’s calming influence, Abdul Samad’s maturing instincts, and a never-say-die dressing room culture — and you have a genuine champion team, not a lucky one.

For more domestic cricket coverage, Ranji Trophy updates, and Indian cricket news, visit [TechnoSports Cricket](https://technosports.co.in).

## FAQs

### **Q: How did Jammu & Kashmir win the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final against Karnataka?**

J&K won on the basis of a mammoth 291-run first-innings lead after posting 584 in their first innings. The final ended in a draw on Day 5 after J&K declared their second innings at 342/4, leaving Karnataka with no chance of overhauling the deficit.

### **Q: Who were the star performers for J&K in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final?**

 Auqib Nabi took 5/54 to finish as the season’s leading wicket-taker with 60 scalps, while Qamran Iqbal — a last-minute replacement who flew in overnight — scored an unbeaten 160 in the second innings, and Sahil Lotra contributed 101* to seal J&K’s historic maiden title.